For Victory Day – Ukraine under constant fire – FSB organizes demonstrations

Russia carried out large-scale airstrikes on Kiev and all of Ukraine early Monday. Air raid sirens sounded for hours in about two-thirds of the country. According to media reports, explosions were heard in the Kherson region and in the Zaporizhia region, and according to official Ukrainian information, a food warehouse in Odessa caught fire.

According to the army, eight other places in the Sumy region in the northeast were also under increased Russian fire.

Klitschko: Four people injured in Kiev
At least four people were injured in the Russian air strikes on Kiev, according to the city’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko. The attacks continued. Reuters eyewitnesses reported numerous explosions in the city. Local authorities say air defense systems repelled the attacks. It was not immediately clear how many drones were shot down on Kiev.

According to Ukrainian military information, Russia intensified the shelling of the city with heavy weapons in disputed Bakhmut. Russian troops are deploying more modern equipment and redeploying their troops, Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyj, the commander of Ukraine’s ground forces, said after a visit to the frontline. “The Russians still hope to take the city on May 9. It is our job to thwart this.” The Institute for War Studies also reports “some territorial gains” by Putin’s troops.

The Ukrainian armed forces would do everything they could to prevent more. “Today it is important to make decisions as quickly as possible and to anticipate the actions of the enemy.” The Russian mercenary group Wagner had previously given up on the imminent withdrawal from the city. May 9 is Victory Day in Russia, which is commemorated with a military parade in Moscow to mark the victory over Nazi Germany.

Is the Russian secret service organizing demonstrations abroad?
Abroad, meanwhile, the intention is to artificially bring Russia to the vote. According to research from various media outlets, Russian secret services are infiltrating or organizing demonstrations in major Western cities for propaganda purposes. The “Süddeutsche Zeitung” reported on Sunday that a vote would be created against Ukraine or that Sweden’s accession to NATO should be made more difficult. The newspaper would have relevant Kremlin documents.

For example, according to this, small, organized groups in a major European city are simulating anti-Turkish rallies, posing as Ukrainians and agitating against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to generate propaganda material for internet platforms. This is apparently intended to give the impression of a broad anti-Islam mood in Europe.

Examples include a demonstration by alleged members of a Ukrainian community in Paris in early March, who demonstrated in Nazi salutes and balaclavas against Turkish President Erdoğan while mocking the victims of the devastating February 6 earthquake. According to the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”, the Kremlin has not commented on the allegations when asked.

Different subjects, different cities, the same people
According to the investigation, provocateurs apparently infiltrated demonstrations in several cities on other issues, such as the nurse shortage, pension reform or climate, with propaganda directed against support for Ukraine. At these performances in Paris, The Hague, Brussels or Madrid, some identical posters were used by the same people.

Photos of it have appeared on the Internet, giving the impression of widespread anti-Ukrainian sentiment. The distribution of the material thus produced on Facebook, Tiktok, Telegram or Youtube was mainly controlled by three accounts from Saint Petersburg.